The blue plaque on a building in South Street, Mayfair, which was once the headquarters of the Rank Organisation. It was a delight to pick my old Morris Minor up and it didn’t take me long to drive from Colchester to Basildon where I was greeted by the three young ladies in my life. Sarah,Continue reading “Walking into a lion’s den and out again with a smile on my face”
Category Archives: journalism
A brief break in my old haunts then home again, home again, jiggity jig
After the tour it was a change to have a good Sunday roast with my parents and a very comfortable bed to sleep in that night, but no rest for the wicked, as they say, not that I consider myself wicked of course. Bright and early Monday morning, well not long after 9am, I wentContinue reading “A brief break in my old haunts then home again, home again, jiggity jig”
How strong are your resolutions as we face a Brave New Year?
A New Year lies before us and this is normally a time to make resolutions, hollow promises of what we will do in the year ahead. We announce our intention to lose weight; to stop smoking; to drink less; to be kind to others; to refrain from licentious behaviour; not to abuse others on Facebook,Continue reading “How strong are your resolutions as we face a Brave New Year?”
Who needs to run away to the circus I found my place in a puppet show
My father was a good man. He didn’t lay down the law when I was growing up, instead he led by example. He was gentle and considerate, I never heard him swear and he only shouted at me once – I deserved it. There is one piece of advice he gave me in my teensContinue reading “Who needs to run away to the circus I found my place in a puppet show”
No more paddling in the shallows as I dive headlong into union politics
There are many forms of addiction – drink, drugs, gambling and more. They nearly all start small but many lead to disaster. As one drink leads to another, as one pill ends with a needle in your arm, or a flutter on the Grand National reaches the point when you put all you have leftContinue reading “No more paddling in the shallows as I dive headlong into union politics”
Back to business but missing the camaraderie of union action
As I mentioned recently it was good to get back to work but I still missed the buzz that goes with proper union activity. I don’t mean going on strike. That is the ultimate weapon the worker has and, like a nuclear bomb, you know that if you utilise it then the ultimate effect couldContinue reading “Back to business but missing the camaraderie of union action”
Union bonds do not last forever, but I still had all the world as my stage
I must admit, the end of the Basildon lockout was a bit of an anti-climax. I had discovered more about the camaraderie of socialism and the true meaning of the brotherhood of the union (be fair, there were not many women in the trade union at that time) in those couple of weeks with theContinue reading “Union bonds do not last forever, but I still had all the world as my stage”
One man and his dog – but it’s the dog in charge of the show
When I was a trainee reporter – over 50 years ago – most of the stories I reported on were straightforward. A story could be a report on a court case; reports from a council meeting; sports reports; a theatre review; or one of many other events. In all these cases I went to court,Continue reading “One man and his dog – but it’s the dog in charge of the show”
One in the eye for the bosses when picketers produce a Royal edition
The weekend came and the weekend went. The journalists in Basildon were still locked out by the Westminster Press Group management. The printworkers were still refusing to return to work unless the lockout was ended and the journalists also allowed to return. On that Monday morning in November, with the wedding of Princess Anne andContinue reading “One in the eye for the bosses when picketers produce a Royal edition”
Natural suspicion takes a back seat when it comes to bosses v workers
In my early days as a journalist, especially when I worked at Holywell and used to go to the head office printing works with Peter Leaney, one particular point was always drummed into me: “Don’t upset the printworkers.” Once the stories for the newspaper had been sourced, written and subbed the journalists passed over controlContinue reading “Natural suspicion takes a back seat when it comes to bosses v workers”
Robin's Nest 